Where legal, is anyone using a suppressed rifle for prairie dog shooting? It seems a much more civilized way to spend the day as opposed to enduring a couple of hundred muzzle blasts.

While I am not hunting PD in the US, I do a lot of rabbit here in NZ. Sometimes we can set up with a good supply of rabbit on a hilside, but once they have been "educated" a few times by numerous shooters over the season,they will all be out of sight with the first couple of shots of an un-supressed rifle. My rifle is a XR100 in 20 VarTarg with 25 1/4 in barrel ( 3/4 inch lost to rechamber from 204) and while the muzzle blast is not uncomfortable the supressor seems to confuse the rabbit as to where the shots come from and consequently allows many more to be taken.

Von Gruff.

Yes, I know guys that do.

I'm not currently, but I'm sure considering it. I'd like to hear from somebody that has.

I've shot rockchucks here in Idaho with a .223 with a HTG suppressor on it. They have a website that you can access and learn more about their line of products.

Anytime you put a suppressor on a high velocity round the suppression is short lived. I'm shooting a 40g NBT at around 3900fps and what you get is a suppression for about 35-40 yards and then a real different sound. It's more like a real loud "swish" sound but definitively audible. What you tend to hear much more clearly is the bullet impact and the rifle can be shot without ear protection which is very nice if using muffs on a hot day. The "sound trail" is broken and identifying the source of the sound is very difficult. I've shot over coyotes and when they see the bullet impact on one side they will many times run towards you if you aren't spotted by them.

It is not Hollywood quiet and usually the bullet impact noise or just the sound of the round will put the critters down. An exception to this is if they are on an elevated setting and you miss them high, and they are far enough away from you, about 40% of the time they will remain.

It is enjoyable to shoot with the suppressor, although mine adds about 18 oz to the end of a 26" bull barrel and makes for a heavier overall gun. When my buddy touches off his .204 next to me that muffs have to go on and it seems very loud in contrast.

I also have a HTG suppressor that I use on a CZ bolt action .22lr and when used with CCI standard velocity rounds it does become Hollywood quiet. When the suppressor is shot on a 10/22, even with a bolt buffer, you would hear the bolt noise and more prominently the bullet impact noise. On the CZ you could be 20-25 yards away from the shooter and not be aware that it was fired.

Makes for a lot of giggles.

Totally illegal in Wyoming, but other states might allow it.

It's hunting, and all hunting with a supressor is illegal.

It is illegal to hunt "game" species in Texas with a suppressed arm, however prairie dogs are classed as a non-game species (like feral hogs, exotic antelope, coyotes, rabbits, etc.), so may be hunted year around with slingshots, atlatls, bazookas, or any other weapon of your choice.

I've never found the need for one. I shoot a .243AI and a 6BR Norma. The close in dogs take cover after the first few rounds but 300 yards and beyond it doesn't seem to bother them.

I have an aquaintance that has a 22-250 with a suppressor. He did it because it was too loud for him to shoot with others around, and he didn't like the noise either. He had a muzzle brake on one, but no one could stand the noise.

I have shot it a couple times, and it is by no means quiet, however, the suppressor sure takes that hellacious 22-250 "crack" out of it.
It sounds much like a 22KHornet with a light bullet.

One thing he said, and I don't know how true it is, he said it seems to make the barrel get hotter faster. I don't believe he ever tested it, but he has shot many thousands of rounds through it through several barrels and I would hope he would know.

I've not shot PD's with a can on a rifle, but I have lots of experience with suppressors. I agree that it may heat your barrel up faster and in high volume shooting like PD's, I think using a can would only be advisable if you are shooting multiple guns, which really isn't an issue for most folks shooting PD's. On thing that hasn't been mentioned about cans is they will *generally* improve the accuracy of the rifle they are mounted on, a can won't make an inaccurate rifle accurate, but the additional weight on the end will generally change the harmonics enough to show some moderate improvement.

D99, interesting about not being able to use a can for PD's in WY, I would have guessed they were considered a non-game animal and a suppressor would be fine.

emmagee

Interesting comments about the heat factor when using a can. Mine does seem to heat up faster and when the bolt is left open the back pressure does seem to cause some smoke to come back through the action. My HTG can operates at a very low heat index when tested.

We use two rifles each when the shooting get heavy and leave the bolts open to help the ventilation process.

quote:

Originally posted by emmagee:
I've not shot PD's with a can on a rifle, but I have lots of experience with suppressors. I agree that it may heat your barrel up faster and in high volume shooting like PD's, I think using a can would only be advisable if you are shooting multiple guns, which really isn't an issue for most folks shooting PD's. On thing that hasn't been mentioned about cans is they will *generally* improve the accuracy of the rifle they are mounted on, a can won't make an inaccurate rifle accurate, but the additional weight on the end will generally change the harmonics enough to show some moderate improvement.

D99, interesting about not being able to use a can for PD's in WY, I would have guessed they were considered a non-game animal and a suppressor would be fine.

Last word on it was no, but it is always worth it to check.

quote:

Originally posted by Flippy:
I have an aquaintance that has a 22-250 with a suppressor. He did it because it was too loud for him to shoot with others around, and he didn't like the noise either. He had a muzzle brake on one, but no one could stand the noise.

I have shot it a couple times, and it is by no means quiet, however, the suppressor sure takes that hellacious 22-250 "crack" out of it.
It sounds much like a 22KHornet with a light bullet.

One thing he said, and I don't know how true it is, he said it seems to make the barrel get hotter faster. I don't believe he ever tested it, but he has shot many thousands of rounds through it through several barrels and I would hope he would know.

While I have not shot Pdogs with a suppressed rifle I would think it a tremendous improvment in the days affairs.

Using a suppressor does however make for a lot of heat and barrel heat is a part of that. I have started to use ice cubes on the stainless barrel, and also on the suppressors to reduce the heat after a number of rounds.

quote:

Originally posted by 308Sako:
While I have not shot Pdogs with a suppressed rifle I would think it a tremendous improvment in the days affairs.

Using a suppressor does however make for a lot of heat and barrel heat is a part of that. I have started to use ice cubes on the stainless barrel, and also on the suppressors to reduce the heat after a number of rounds.

Some friends of mine take an old propane can filled with compressed air and a hose to help cool their barrels on really hot days. They open the actions, put the hose in the chamber and let the compressed air flow down the barrel.